Quote:
Originally Posted by fox46
I've competed alongside 1114 for quite a number of years both as a student and a mentor. I am very familiar with the negative vibes toward them. I will not lie nor will I take the moral high-road- I don't like competing with them.
Before you jump all over me, let me explain why:
Every year I watch a group of students, teachers, parents, mentors and sponsors pour their hearts and souls into a machine. They regularily stay up until 5am in the morning trying to squeeze in a few more hours of design work. I have watched them struggle to keep their marks from slipping as they try to make their team the best it can be. I have watched parents, teachers and mentors including myself push themselves to and past their mental, physical and emotional limits trying to give 150% - but they do it.
Every - single - year.
And yet every year I see these people show up to a competition with their masterpiece. They are proud of it. They are inspired by what they have accomplished. To make it onto the field is a high- it is the culmination of the thousands of hours of dedication compromises and commitment. They feel on top of the world. This is FIRST.
However, with one match against one of these powerhouse teams these people's hopes and dreams that they might have a shot at winning a regional, award or the acolade of their peers can be dashed to bits after being hopelessly clobbered by a team like 1114.
How are these people supposed to feel after having another team kick dirt all over their dream machine? They ask themselves- "We gave it our all- 150% - and yet it wasn't enough? How do we become a team like that? How did they do it?" At first they feel inspired to find out how this other team was able to produce a result so much better than theirs. Next year they try again.... and they get clobbered. The following year they try- and again they can't reach the "powerhouse" level of competition.
You have to understand that every year teams put so much time and effort - sheer sweat and determination into their machines but it seems hopeless to ever compete on a level playing field with the likes of these powerhouse teams. What was formerly awe and inspiration now turns to frustration and resentment. They feel inadequate and inferior. They have just been shown that their best effort is not good enough.
This is why these feelings exist and why there is much negativity felt for these kinds of "powerhouse" teams.
As for how we change this? Well I really don't know. Lets see what kind of problem solvers these teams really are.
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I started FIRST as a student back in 1998 on Team 188. Our robot was not very good that year. Countless hours were put in by 30 high school students that year, and we made a robot we were very proud of, but frankly we got our butts handed to us at EPCOT. What I remember from that year is being awe-struck by teams like 111, 47, 71, 16 and 126. Their level of excellence and dominance was simply inspiring. I remember thinking "One day, I want to have a team like that. I want to make people's jaws drop they way mine did this weekend." After years of hard work with 1114 we were able to make that happen. It didn't happen overnight, but it sure did happen. It's not hopeless, it definitely is possible to rise to an elite level.